“Cultural Exchange” brings Wellesley community together with dance, music, and comedy

Wellesley students eagerly crowded into Jewett Auditorium last Friday in anticipation of the "Cultural Exchange" show organized by the Chinese Students Association (CSA), Mezcla and the Wellesley African Students Association (WASA). Energy was high as the audience responded visibly to performers Paige Hernandez and Ali Wong. Both talented women seamlessly blended personal commentary on culture and heritage into their acts, though with strikingly different styles. 

Paige Hernandez's act, aptly titled "Paige in Full: A B-Girl's Visual Mixtape," opened up the stage with rich visual and oral storytelling through dance, rap, pantomime, music and reenactment of childhood anecdotes. Beginning with the story of her conception and ending with explorations of her African-American, Cuban, and Chinese heritage, Hernandez charmed the audience with her spunky attitude and wry humor. She provided an intimate glimpse into her childhood dreams and insecurities, while simultaneously connecting to everyone by posing universal questions like "What am I?" and "Am I enough?" Her show, driven by her bold and beautiful personality, gave a refreshing, modern twist to storytelling and the journey of self-discovery. 

Comedian Ali Wong also brought a distinct voice to her act, providing insight into a female, Asian-American view of life. The auditorium was filled with laughter, and sometimes mortified looks, as Wong told jokes that ranged from everyday quirky commentary to raunchier escapades. Her act focused on blunt, frank observations from the female perspective and candid remarks on cultural identity. Wellesley students also appreciated her special references to the Senate Bus. As the closing act, Wong certainly left the audience charged with excitement and amusement.

"I thought it was really good that we had female performers. Especially female, Asian-American comedians," says Amanda Zhang '13. Other students felt just as positive about the performances. "I could connect with everything [Hernandez] said. I am so happy I came!" exclaims Palig Mouradian '13. Mouradian goes on to add, "Just the fact that it's a collaboration embodies the idea that the show is really for everyone."

However, such collaboration is no small feat. "In our knowledge, it's the most extensive collaboration between Wellesley's cultural orgs," says Josephine Kabambi, co-president of WASA. In 2009, Kabambi and Debbie Chen, co-president of CSA, had seen Hernandez and Wong perform together on U Street in Washington, DC. Immediately interested in bringing them to campus, Kabambi and Chen approached their respective cultural organizations and other organizations to propose the idea of a collaboration. 

As for the name of the show, the phrase "Cultural Exchange" has not always held positive connotations. "Last year, the Cultural Exchange thread was an outbreak of cultural tensions on Community," says Chen. "This year, our three cultural orgs want to be more pro-active and foster healthy cultural relations from the start of the semester, as opposed to finding ourselves in situations where we can only react to incidents like the Cultural Exchange thread."

Johanna Arenillas, president of MEZCLA, affirms this pro-active spirit. "The whole campus needs to be more aware of all the cultural identities within it. We're all here, but we're all here together." 

The show certainly brought a new, positive meaning to the term "Cultural Exchange." The performance successfully brought together the Wellesley community, proving that cultural exchange is neither exclusive nor inaccessible, but rather can be accessed in an entirely fun and vibrant manner. It is apparent from the large turnout and raving reviews that the Wellesley community definitely looks forward to seeing another such enlightening collaboration between campus organizations in the future.